User Friendly Media

Local Book will offer UFM’s App Express mobile app builder to help local business
advertisers build loyalty and increase operational efficiencies with mobile apps.

THE WOODLANDS, Texas – March 11, 2013 – User Friendly Media today announced a partner agreement with award-winning community directory publisher Local Book Publishing, to resell App Express, the affordable mobile app builder that enables small and medium-sized businesses to engage customers and grow their business with powerful mobile apps. App Express is designed to solve common business challenges, like customer communications, scheduling, invoicing, marketing and promotions.

Through this agreement, Local Book Publishing will offer the App Express platform to its advertisers in Maryland, Delaware, North Carolina, Utah and Arizona, helping them tap into the growing opportunity for SMBs to build customer loyalty with local mobile customers.

“We are excited about partnering with App Express and now have the ability to offer mobile apps to our advertisers,” said Kevin Neuberger, vice president of operations, Local Book Publishing. “Working with App Express accelerates our move into mobile and allows us to offer our advertisers an affordable option for engaging mobile customers.”

“We are delighted to welcome Local Book Publishing to the App Express partner network,” said Mary Beth Brendza, vice president, business development, App Express/User Friendly Media. “Our mobile apps are a tremendous tool for extending the reach of advertisers to customers who are increasingly searching via mobile devices for the types of local information found in Local Book directories.”

The App Express platform is available through a network of white-label providers and resellers like Local Book Publishing. App Express positions its partners for success with a dedicated account manager, priority customer support, and a range of sales, operations, and marketing resources.

App Express mobile app features include:

• Appointment scheduling – display availability and schedule appointments
• Payments – invoice and receive payments on the go
• Messaging – connect with customers in real time
• Sharing – share app with friends and followers on Facebook and Twitter. Engage users to “follow” your business on Twitter and “like” your business on Facebook
• Deals – engage customers with loyalty and couponing system
• Information – provide essential contact information and menu of services
• One-page, mobile-optimized website – the most important “on-the-go” contact information to promote app discovery by directing the user to download the app
• For iOS and Android platforms

Local Book Publishing (http://www.thelocalbook.com)
Since 1999, Local Book Publishing has been helping small businesses grow and succeed by producing quality telephone directories in southwest Utah, Arizona, Maryland, Delaware, and North Carolina. The Local Book connects consumers with businesses in their community and is committed to publishing the most accurate, complete and easiest to use directories in the country.

About User Friendly Media (http://www.userfriendlymedia.com)
User Friendly Media’s mission is to connect buyers and sellers by putting local businesses at consumers’ fingertips. The User Friendly Media portfolio consists of 36 directories and 30 community websites across eight states. The User-Friendly Phone Book is currently the second largest independent phone book publisher in the U.S. The company’s mobile solutions include App Express, a mobile app builder and mobile website platform for SMBs. User Friendly Media’s GoLocal247.com, one of the fastest growing local business directory website platforms in the country, is filled with enhanced local business profiles, online coupons and everything local citizens need to discover what is happening in their communities. It is a portfolio company of VS&A Communications Partners III, LP, the private equity affiliate of media industry merchant bank Veronis Suhler Stevenson.

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Media Contact:
Eileen Pacheco
(508) 888-7478
eileen@tango-group.com

Consumers are increasingly viewing multiple screens simultaneously. According to a Nielsen study, 86 percent of smartphone users said they use their device while watching TV. The study also revealed that consumers engage with content relevant to what they are watching by looking up information or looking for deals and information about products advertised.

During this year’s Super Bowl broadcast, advertisers engaged consumers on multiple screens by offering their Instagram or Social Media channels on their advertisements, and when the blackout occurred during the game, advertisers knew consumers would turn to their mobile devices to pass the time, so they used social media to keep consumers engaged with their brands.

Multi-screen marketing campaigns aren’t just for big, national brands. It’s imperative for local and small businesses to have a cross-platform marketing strategy.

Local and small businesses can engage consumers with cross-platform marketing campaigns to ensure their businesses can be found when multi-screen consumers search for information.

While many local and small businesses are still trying to take their businesses mobile, the thought of multi-screen marketing may seem daunting. But consumers are already there, so business owners need to find a way to elevate their digital marketing game.

Luckily, there are media partners like Cordillera Interactive that are helping local and small business leverage cross-platform marketing by adding mobile to their TV and online strategies.

In an announcement earlier this week about our partnership with Cordillera, David Buonfiglio, VP of Sales for Cordillera explained, “We recognized that we needed an app development strategy in place to enable our advertisers to reach their mobile customers. We selected App Express because it offers a proven, scalable and affordable mobile solution. We look forward to bringing this opportunity to our advertisers as a way to expand their mobile strategies and reach the growing base of mobile consumers.”

The partnership will enable Cordillera’s local advertisers to capitalize on the advantages of cross-platform promotion by adding mobile to their TV and online strategies

THE WOODLANDS, Texas – Feb. 4, 2013 – App Express today announced a partner agreement with Cordillera Interactive, the online and mobile division of television and interactive services company, Cordillera Communications, Inc., to bring the power of multi-screen marketing to Cordillera advertisers. Under the agreement, Cordillera will resell the App Express mobile app builder, integrating it with the full range of interactive marketing solutions it currently provides to local advertisers.

According to a Nielsen/Yahoo study, 86 percent of mobile consumers are using their mobile devices simultaneously with television, offering advertisers a tremendous opportunity to complement the viewing experience and engage with customers.

“We recognized that we needed an app development strategy in place to enable our advertisers to reach their mobile customers,” said David Buonfiglio, vice president of sales, Cordillera Interactive. “We selected App Express because it offers a proven, scalable and affordable mobile solution. We look forward to bringing this opportunity to our advertisers as a way to expand their mobile strategies and reach the growing base of mobile consumers.”

“Research shows that consumers are increasingly using multiple devices when searching for products, services and business information, making it imperative for local advertisers to have a cross-platform marketing strategy,” said Mary Beth Brendza, vice president, business development and founder, App Express. “We are excited to partner with Cordillera, a company that understands the tremendous advertising synergies between television and mobile.”

The App Express platform is available through a network of white-label providers and resellers like Cordillera Interactive. App Express mobile app features include:

• Appointment scheduling – display availability and schedule appointments
• Payments – invoice and receive payments on the go
• Messaging – connect with customers in real time
• Sharing – share app with friends and followers on Facebook and Twitter. Engage users to “follow” your business on Twitter and “like” your business on Facebook
• Deals – engage customers with loyalty and couponing system
• Information – provide essential contact information and menu of services
• One-page, mobile-optimized website – the most important “on-the-go” contact information to promote app discovery by directing the user to download the app
• For iOS and Android platforms

About Cordillera Interactive (http://cordillera.tv/cordillera-interactive)

Cordillera Interactive is the online and mobile division of television and interactive services company, Cordillera Communications, Inc., which owns 13 television stations and related interactive services, in 11 markets, including some of the nation’s hottest growth markets, reaching two percent of U.S. households. Cordillera Interactive provides strategic leadership and operational frameworks for all Cordillera online services, including the websites and mobile brands aligned with its television stations, and a growing stable of interactive marketing solutions and niche sites.

About App Express (www.AppExpress.com)

Founded in 2011 to bring the power of mobile apps to small and medium-sized businesses, App Express was acquired in 2012 by User Friendly Media, the second largest independent directory publisher in the U.S. Mobile apps from App Express enable SMBs to open a direct channel of communication with customers to build loyalty, increase efficiency and grow their businesses. The User Friendly Media portfolio consists of 36 directories and 30 community websites across eight states. The company’s GoLocal247.com, one of the fastest growing local business directory website platforms in the country, is filled with enhanced local business profiles, online coupons and everything local citizens need to discover what is happening in their communities. User Friendly Media is a portfolio company of VS&A Communications Partners III, LP, the private equity affiliate of media industry merchant bank Veronis Suhler Stevenson.

A recent Fox Business story about “Tech Trends Expected in 2013” predicted mobile apps will become more prevalent for small businesses this year, “enabling them to be more connected, productive and use those moments of time that would be wasted if it weren’t for mobility.”

If your small business is ready for its own mobile app, how should you get started? Here are some features to look for when researching the right mobile app partner for your business.

1. Easy to Set Up – creating your mobile app should be an easy step-by-step process that doesn’t involve coding on your part.
2. Affordable – a mobile app doesn’t have to be a huge investment for your business. There are some great options out there now for small businesses that do not include large upfront costs or set-up fees.
3. Mobile-Optimized Website – look for a mobile app provider that also offers a mobile-optimized website so customers can find your business whether they are searching from a desktop, smartphone or tablet.
4. Solves Business Issues – a mobile app should make your business more efficient with features such as appointment scheduling, messaging and mobile payments.
5. Marketing – a mobile app should help you connect with customers through coupons and deals, photos and videos and social sharing.
6. Dashboard – a mobile app should include an easy-to-use dashboard that allows you to make changes to the app, respond to communication, create invoices and receive payments.

The right mobile app partner will understand your business, the challenges you face and will ultimately increase your ROI by saving you time and making your business operate more efficiently.

This holiday season saw a boom in mobile shopping. Mobile sales increased 63 percent on Black Friday and 13 percent of all web-based purchases on Cyber Monday were made via mobile device, according to a recent report by IBM. Unfortunately, many small businesses did not reap the benefits of this record growth as they have yet to take their businesses mobile.

This past year saw mobile growth and many small businesses were hesitant to jump on the mobile bandwagon. Yet, Gartner is predicting that mobile devices will be the most common way to access the Web in 2013. Now is the time to take your small business mobile.

Luckily, creating a mobile presence has never been easier or more affordable for small businesses. Solutions like App Express allow small businesses to create a mobile app and have a one-page mobile-optimized website so customers can find your app and business information online.

Once your business has a mobile presence, you can connect with mobile customers, build customer loyalty, and use your location as an advantage by offering deals to local customers. This allows your business to compete effectively with larger and online businesses.

So when the 2013 holiday season comes around, you’ll be ready to reap the rewards of mobile shoppers.